Centuria Medical Makati, the largest medical arts facility in the Philippines, is expanding with the opening of Heal Venture Lab, an incubation hub for medical start-ups.
The incubation hub aims to help local and foreign healthcare start-ups easily set up in the Philippines and take advantage of the growing demand for healthcare.
“Heal Venture Lab is a healthcare investment platform that aims to bridge the gap and promote cross-border collaboration in Asia by bringing technology and capital,” Dr. Jaemin Park, Managing Partner of Heal Venture Lab said.
They aim to address other unmet health needs such as pediatric health, rural health, biopharma, and medical devices through various structures including a venture fund, incubators, and more with Heal Venture Lab as a group platform.
The incubation hub is located on the 29th floor in Centuria’s new extension at Century Diamond Tower, which primarily serves as a free co-working space for all clinicians, medical engineers, pharma/medtech industry professionals, and overseas medical companies who want to enter the Philippines.
According to Dr. Park, the Philippines tends to be overlooked by overseas medical companies due to its geographic and historical position, unlike Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. However, the opportunities in the Philippines are numerous. Dr. Park is optimistic about opportunities in the Philippines, especially since neighboring countries are already saturated with players in the healthcare sector. He added that the Philippines, with a population of 100 million populations who can speak English, will be a viable next destination over other markets in ASEAN.
The environment for more healthcare services has also become more favorable for young companies recently, with the rise and acceleration of healthcare spending during the pandemic. Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority show the steady increase in healthcare expenditure in the country from P917.15 billion in 2020 to P1.09 trillion in 2021, with the country’s top income earners accounting for P380 billion or 34 percent of this total spend.
Furthermore, the signing of RA 11647 allows non-Philippine nationals to do business in the country or invest up to 100 percent of the capital needed for domestic enterprises.
Dr. Park said they chose to locate in Centuria because it has a community of independent medical clinics not allied with large incumbent medical groups. These specialty medical clinics have a strong potential for growth to ride along the rise of ambulatory clinics in the Philippines to become clinic chains like the ones in the US.
“Centuria is in a position to absorb some of this growth as it has become a trusted name and destination in this sector. This is also why we have expanded Centuria to its neighboring building, the Century Diamond Tower,” Marco Antonio, Century Properties President and CEO said.
Located in Century City in Poblacion, Makati, Centuria has more than 600 medical experts composed of doctors, dentists, and allied health professionals, and 350 leading health and wellness brands and group practices, accredited by 95 percent of local and international HMO providers. Today, 15 percent of its patients are foreign nationals.
